I’m working on promotional material for our upcoming TI course in January and request your contribution towards creating a top 10 list of reasons why a home inspectors should consider offering thermal imaging with inspections (s well as services independent of a home inspection).
Name the Top 10 Reasons to go Thermal
1- Marketing enhancement for the inspector
2- Opens up new income streams outside the normal real estate consumer.
3- Provides a new layer of liability protection by finding more defects.
4- Provides a extra means for finding and verifying certain defects.
5- Protects the client by helping them know more about their home.
6- Provides peace of mind to the client and inspector by revealing more.
7- Stops other conditions from developing that could be much worse (ie…
moisture can lead to mold, decay, pest and electrical fixture damage)
8- Enhances the appearance of the inspectors final report and reputation.
9- Ends debates about findings because the IR image is so dynamic.
10- Saves the client money by locating energy loss issues.
An infrared inspection can identify and document:
- electrical faults before they cause a fire.
- overloaded and undersized circuits.
- circuit breakers in need of immediate replacement.
- missing, damaged, and/or wet insulation.
- heat loss and air infiltration in walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors.
- water and moisture intrusion that could lead to mold.
- possible pest infestation.
- hidden roof leaks, before they cause serious damage.
- air conditioner compressor leaks.
- under fastening and/or missing framing members.
- structural defects.
- broken seals in double pane windows.
- energy loss and efficiency.
- dangerous flue leaks.
- damaged and/or malfunctioning radiant heating systems.
- unknown plumbing leaks.
- overheated equipment.
- more…
I like your number 8 John. It actually even goes further than that. IR has a big shock value when performed in front of your client. Which thens helps in that all important word of mouth business.
JJ
Reasons not to go thermal:
- Few are willing to pay extra for it. It’s a large upfront expense to the home inspector and of no value to the public (who only cares about getting the cheapest home inspector they can find).
I’m not doing it. But I don’t know anyone personally making money with it either. Everyone I know just throws it in with a standard home inspection.
Not all markets will support the added charges but there is value to the public. It is up to you to convey that value just as you want to convey reasons why they should choose you to do an inspection in the first place.
Typical mid to high end purchasers can be easily persuaded to pay more whn they understand just what information it may provide that might otherwise be missed in a visual inspection without the aid of thermal imaging.
Check around for local companies that rent them out by day, week, month to get going.
P.S I asked for reasons TO go thermal. Though you can say anyting you want, I would appreceate it if this thread would stick to the narrow topic as I am working on course promotional material for our chapter and would like to have plenty to choose from.
Lost of good stuff there, thanks John.
I do, both directly: (through fees for the IR service) and indirectly: (many prospects seek me out specifically because I offer the service, so I get more overall inspection business because I offer this service - these people tend to be more quality oriented and less price focused so they are typically better clients, buying better homes too). Probably 3 out of 4 of my clients are willing to pay for the additional service.
Axactlly, I had a client call me yesterday saying that one room in their house is cold. They don’t think there is any insulation in the wall and want me to scan it.
I told them my fee starts at $350.00 and goes up and for $150.00 I’ll do a blower door test.
Sorry for the drift.
It is a big investment to get started and takes years to recoup the cost. Most people in your area probably call Inspector Paul for their thermal needs.
I made more money with infrared (last winter) than I did on home inspections. When homeowners see my IR images of the issues I’ve located with infrared, they call me to locate similar issues in their home.
http://www.massinfrared.com/index.php?D=67
http://www.massinfrared.com/index.php?D=86
I’ve recouped my IR camera and training costs already. So where’s my loss?
I recoverd my cost in a few months and that was back when the
prices were much higher than now… just saying.
It can and will pay for itself if you promote it. There are always the bottom feeders in any market that want to get the cheapest price.
As the saying goes, “The disappointment of poor quality outlasts the sweetness of low price”.
I find that I don’t really need to “sell” my clients on the idea of an IR scan. I just take the camera out and show them what it can “see” that they (or I) cannot with the naked eye. Slam dunk!
I’ve made a decent amount of extra money with my FLIR B-CAM that I would not have made in I had not purchased it. It more than pays for itself. One extra IR inspection per month does that and I usually get several.
John,
I must be doing something wrong…
How did you recover the full cost of an IR camera in a few months?
Did you purchase one of those cheap IR cameras?
Yeah John let’s hear it. I spent $6000 on a camera and almost $2000 on certification. I sure didn’t recoup $8,000 in a couple months…Just sayin’.
From what I understand John books one inspection a day and collects close to a grand for it. He spends up to 8 hours at one house and this price includes Infra Red. I’m also told the man is booked 5 to 6 days every week and this info did not come from John.
Billy,
I’m just as busy if not more, but we are talking recouping the costs of his infrared camera with fees from infrared services only. Not the fees he collects from home inspections.
Ok i see. I know a well known home inspector who uses the cam and charges an additional $100 per inspection if people want it included and he states he’s made his money back ten fold. Says atleast half take him up on his offer.
I wonder how much advertising I could get for $8000.00 ?
This is the only area where everyone pushes you to spend and mortgage the house.
Nobody says get an expensive computer,moisture meter ,etc;
That being said I will jump in when I go commercial.